Fed-up Longhorns live up to expectations

Updated 10:43 pm, Saturday, November 3, 2012

Photo: Ricardo Brazziell, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

Texas' David Ash (14) looks for room to run against Texas Tech in the second half at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas, on Saturday, November 3, 2012. Texas won, 31-22. (Ricardo Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman/MCT)

LUBBOCK — David Ash grew tired of going backward. Carrington Byndom grew sick of people picking on him. And Mack Brown, presumably, grew weary of insisting things would get better when they kept looking worse.

Basically, the Texas Longhorns were fed up. And when they finally showed it Saturday at Jones AT&T Stadium with an inspired, well-rounded performance that was as difficult to foresee as their miserable October, they beat No. 20 Texas Tech 31-22 and claimed some long-overdue satisfaction.

"This is more of what we expected to start the season," Brown said.

But for UT, much of what happened Saturday was new. The defense, which had been on pace to give up the most yards in school history, repeatedly made big stops, including two crucial pass break-ups and a blocked field goal by Byndom.

Brown, who had lost nine games in a row to teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25, utilized a bold, effective game plan that enabled the Longhorns to build an early lead and then withstand a third-quarter Tech rally.

And Ash, who was benched in the fourth quarter of last week's game against Kansas after what he admitted were three weeks of regression, responded with the most impressive first half of his career.

"Personally, I felt like I fell down last week," said Ash, who finished with 264 yards and three TDs on 11-of-19 passing. "And this week I had to get back up."

It helped that he had Mike Davis to give him a lift. Davis, UT's ever-improving junior receiver, twice broke wide open on post routes, and Ash hit him in stride both times. The first went 54 yards to set up a touchdown. The second one went 75 yards to the end zone.

And in the fourth quarter, Ash lofted the ball beautifully down the left sideline, and Davis leaped just high enough to snatch it out of the air for a 25-yard score. After the game, Ash said Davis kept pestering him to throw him the ball and guaranteed touchdowns if he did.

"I'm always open, that's what I tell him," said Davis, who had a career-high 165 receiving yards. "I just feel like I can beat my man all the time."

Plenty of opponents have adopted that attitude against the UT defense this season. But Saturday, the Longhorns (7-2, 4-2 Big 12) showed some actual resistance.

With defensive coordinator Manny Diaz under intense criticism, Brown spent more time with the unit in recent weeks, although he downplayed his impact Saturday. More tangibly, the Longhorns benefited from several key plays by linebacker Steve Edmond and Byndom.

Both of those defenders endured their share of struggles this season. And the Red Raiders (6-3, 3-3) made a point of attacking Byndom so often it seemed they were singling out the senior cornerback.

But with Tech driving in the third quarter, Byndom broke up a third-down pass from Seth Doege and limited the Red Raiders to a field goal. After Tech scored a touchdown on the next drive, it trailed 24-22 and went for two. But Byndom knocked away another Doege pass in the corner of the end zone, keeping UT ahead.

Later, Edmond batted away a Doege third-down pass, and Byndom raced off the edge to block a field goal that would have pulled Tech within six points with five minutes left.